Supermoon 2015: Stunning pictures from around globe

THE sky was illuminated last night by the first "Supermoon" of the year, the largest and brightest view of the Moon as it reached its closest point to the Earth, resulting in some stunning images of the phenomenon from stargazers.

The spectacle was seen all over the globe as the Moon slowly rose last night, 15 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it is at its smallest and dimmest.

Supermoons or "perigee-syzygy", their astronomical title, occur when the moon is simultaneously at its closest possible point to the Earth as it orbits its elliptical (lemon-shaped) route and when it is also directly opposite the Sun, meaning it is fully illuminated.

Stargazers from around the globe came out in full force to witness the phenomenon and have taken pictures of the spectacular Supermoon.

On Twitter and Instagram the hashtag #supermoon2015 was trending as people shared their images from around the world.